For a little welcome diversion from your political, financial, climatological and other worries, how about orificial hirudiniasis? Here's a new species of nose-dwelling leech. Its ancestors may gave lived in Tyrannosaurus rex noses but our new friend here will be perfectly happy in yours. (The linked fulltext research paper is from the Public Library of Science's flagship peer-reviewed online journal PLoS ONE, but it's the Beeb's notice that has the absolutely OMG EWW pix.) Nature is so cool.
posted by jfuller on Apr 15, 2010 - 50 comments

According to the Wall Street Journal, coffee shops in New York are starting to cut back on laptops -- by reducing WiFi privileges, removing outlets, or banning the machines outright. This article has spawned a vast number of spin-off pieces and conversations across the Web. [more inside]
posted by Shepherd on Aug 7, 2009 - 100 comments

Leech Hunter's Chronicles [how to remove them]
posted by srboisvert on Feb 8, 2006 - 16 comments

Society has been using leeches among other things for bloodletting in order to treat diseases for thousands of years. In fact, the word leech may derive from the olde english word for physician. Leech treatment peaked in the early 1800's and then waned. But it's become fashionable again in recent times. FDA approval was given last year allowing leeches to be raised for medicinal use. So there's no need to be scared of them anymore. You can buy them in bulk for about $7 a suck pop and have them delivered in their own leech mobile home. Consider also replacing your viagra and massage oil.
posted by peacay on Apr 26, 2005 - 15 comments